Students, parents and Ames residents celebrated the Chinese New Year at the Spring Festival hosted by the ISU Chinese Students and Scholars Association.

The festival was held Sunday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. All ISU students and Ames residents were invited.

Dianjun Zhu, ISU Chinese Students and Scholars Association president and senior in finance, said the association wanted to make the festival accessible to all.

“Chinese students make up 50 percent of all international students,” Zhu said.

Joining the Chinese Students and Scholars Association for the celebration creates a home away from home for some students.

Yali Qin, Ames resident, attended the festival for similar reasons. Qin believes it is important to teach her children about Chinese heritage, and the Chinese Students and Scholars Association provides the opportunity to do so.

“There isn’t much of an environment to [learn about Chinese heritage] in the city, but there is in [Iowa State],” Qin said.

According to History.com, Sunday night, the first new moon of the New Year, was the start of the Spring Festival. In Chinese culture, the New Year celebration is only the first night of the 15-day Spring Festival.

Shuyan Sun, freshman in pre-computer science, explained that in China, having the Chinese symbol for peace hanging upside down on your door is another tradition. Upside down, the symbol literally reads as arrive; therefore, the symbol states that peace will arrive.

The night before the New Year is when families reunite to celebrate together by having a special dinner. Most families wear traditional clothing and ring in the New Year by watching fireworks and dragon dancing in the streets. Children under 18 often receive a red envelope containing gifts or money.

The celebration mixed traditional Chinese culture and New Year’s traditions with more modern aspects, such as modern songs, skits and dances.